Many flocked to the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge on Friday, April 18th to hear Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and his aligned front in local government once again appeal to New York State with “enough is enough” urgency.
State lawmakers and their countrywide official counterparts were joined by the surviving family members of victims who were killed by impaired drivers, like Andrea and Tim Carpenter—who held a photo of their late son, Timothy, the victim of a 2023 three-car collision caused by a man police said was high on fentanyl.
Timothy Carpenter was 22 years old.
Language revisions addressed in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025 “State of the State” proposal seek to expand prosecutable substances and strengthen the penalties for “drugged driving.”
Long Island elected Republican representatives like DA Tierney, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, State Senator Dean Murray and so forth—are in agreement with said sentiment, but are displeased with the Democratic Head of State’s lack of follow-through.
They are ready to bid an overdue farewell to a lackadaisical loophole that still threatens innocent lives everyday, and stood together to communicate as much: that their resistance to all things “feet-dragging” when it comes to life or death matters will not go unanswered.
Suffolk County Executive Romaine brought forth the context of the rise of reckless drivers wrecking havoc on Long Island highways, and in general. He evoked that swift action is needed on a pressing matter that has no business being drawn out within the belly of the budget negotiations beast.
“Our roads are very congested… there are 150 fatalities a year due to road accidents,” Romaine said while introducing Tierney on Friday. “A lot of that comes from distracted, or drugged driving.”
DA Tierney relayed the nuance-devoid letter of the law as presently constituted requires law enforcement suspecting an impaired driver to definitively detect a specific drug that belongs to a public health law list, otherwise ample reprimand and long-term prosecution falters.
A noted advocate of bail reform, Tierney added this instance to his running list of “ridiculous laws” that confirm it to be “Silly Season” up in Albany, from his vantage point.
The DA said New York is one of only four states that limits what qualifies as “drugged driving” to this so-called list.
Adds Romaine: “A driver should focus all of their attention on the road… in an 18-month period, three-distracted driving charges–the maximum fine now is $450. Really?”
“You need levels that will deter people [from drugged driving],” he continued, “whether it’s on an approved list or not. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”